The Friday morning commute could still be a mess, but the National Weather Service has downgraded the winter storm watch issued earlier today to a winter weather advisory.

Snow overnight could make for a slow morning commute Friday.

File photo

The weather service now says the Ann Arbor area is likely to get 3 to 5 inches of snow. Earlier today, forecasters said 4 to 7 inches was likely to fall overnight.

The advisory is in effect from 2 to 11 a.m. Friday, and the weather service warns motorists to expect a slow go on the roads during the morning rush hour.

Snow will develop after midnight tonight, the advisory says, and become heavy at times with the bulk of snow falling between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. It is expected to taper off and end about 11 a.m.

Comments

Sallyxyz

Fri, Mar 4, 2011 : 1:59 a.m.

&quot;When there is light snow or ice on road surfaces, approximately 98 miles of major streets are cleared with chemical de-icing agents.&quot;
&quot;When a snowfall of four inches or more occurs, street plowing begins, utilizing all salt/plow trucks and staff available in field operations, including the street maintenance, solid waste, utilities and parks areas in a coordinated effort to clear all streets in the city. &quot;
Tegel: The city of A2 website clearly states that plowing begins when a snowfall of four or more inches occurs. Read the above excerpts. LIGHT snow or ice is cleared with chemical de-icing agents, not plowing. Perhaps YOU should research the city website.

tegel

Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 2:27 p.m.

In order put these complaints into perpective, a bit of research is in order:
<a href="http://www.annarbor.com/users/profile/?UID=23523&plckUserId=23523">http://www.annarbor.com/users/profile/?UID=23523&amp;plckUserId=23523</a>
The city policy clearly states that snow plows are indeed used in light snow conditions (up to 4 inches). Apparently, taking time to read the facts isn't nearly as satisfying as firing off tirades and drawing false conclusions when a situation fails to meet one's expectations.

Tony Dearing

Sat, Feb 26, 2011 : 11:01 a.m.

A comment was removed because it violates our conversation guidelines. You are welcome to disagree with another commenter as vehemently as you care to, but we ask that you direct your reply to that person's comment on that particular story, and not to make derogatory remarks about the person's general pattern of commenting on the site.

Sallyxyz

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 3:37 p.m.

Two of us have asked A2 dot com to respond and tell us where to complain about the city's policy of not plowing until 4&quot; of snow falls. Please respond and tell us where and how to complain.

Cindy Heflin

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 3:42 p.m.

Kirk Pennington is the field operations supervisor for street maintenance. His number on the city's staff directory is 794-6350, extension 43326.

Macabre Sunset

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 8:59 a.m.

This storm keeps drifting back and forth, losing steam. But it'll still snow fairly hard for a short time, and make the morning commute a mess with blowing snow as well. Maybe 2-3 inches from what they're saying? I'm getting quite tired of all the shoveling.

I was surprised to learn that the city doesn't plow until 4&quot; appears on the roads! After reading that comment I checked the A2 website and, sure enough, that's what it says. No wonder our roads are a mess after snow &quot;events.&quot; Then I checked further in regard to homeowners' responsibilities when it snows. Guess what? WE have to clear our sidewalks of all snow within 24 hrs. after said &quot;event.&quot; Or face up to a $1,000. penalty. Now I gotta tell ya, there are lots more cars on the roads than pedestrians after a storm.
I too, would like to know where to voice a complaint about this awful policy regarding plowing.

DBH

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 2:09 p.m.

<a href="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=city+of+ann+arbor+contact," rel='nofollow'>http://lmgtfy.com/?q=city+of+ann+arbor+contact,</a> or see my reply to Sallyxyz above.

Sallyxyz

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 12:55 a.m.

OK. Plenty of advance warning AGAIN for this advisory. What is going to be the reason that the road aren't cleared for the morning rush this time???? Oh, let's see: &quot;it snowed too fast, it snowed too late, wet snow, the crew slept in hoping that the storm would go south, etc etc etc.&quot; I think everyone is tired of the excuses. Just pre-treat the roads! And get plowing EARLY, not after the bulk of the storm hits.
By the way, A2 city's policy of not plowing until 4&quot; of snow has fallen is totally irresponsible. Taxpayers need to make it known that this is unacceptable.
A2 dot com, where can taxpayers voice their objections to this policy? Four inches of snow is far too much to have on major arteries such as Huron, Fuller, Washtenaw, Packard, Eisenhower, etc., before plowing even begins. This is a community with numerous hills that make snowy driving even worse. Four inches of snowfall is treacherous to drive in when it has not been plowed, and causes needless accidents and injuries. The city needs to be held responsible. I've never heard of such a policy in any city that has regular winter weather.

tegel

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 3:57 a.m.

From the AA snow removal policy document: <a href="http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/fieldoperations/Documents/fieldops_streets_wintermaintanceprocedures_2010_01_05.pdf(3).pdf" rel='nofollow'>http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/fieldoperations/Documents/fieldops_streets_wintermaintanceprocedures_2010_01_05.pdf(3).pdf</a>
Light snow section:
&quot;...The street maintenance crews may use between 200 and 500 tons of salt in conjunction with plowing efforts to control a snowfall of up to four inches on major streets...&quot;
Wouldn't it be nice if people would take time to actually read the policy before complaining about it.

jcj

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 3:57 a.m.

DHB
Brilliant!

jcj

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 3:56 a.m.

One of the biggest reasons for &quot;needless accidents&quot; is irresponsible drivers! Deal with the roads until you are willing to fork over more taxes!

WalkingJoe

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 2:52 a.m.

DBH, I agree.

John B.

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 2:45 a.m.

If I may quote the late, great George Harrison here:
&quot;You've given me a wah-wah....&quot;

DBH

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 2:16 a.m.

Some of us are tired of the complaining!
<a href="http://lmgtfy.com/?q=city+of+ann+arbor+contact" rel='nofollow'>http://lmgtfy.com/?q=city+of+ann+arbor+contact</a>

Bob Martel

Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 11:10 p.m.

This could be good news indeed. However, given the accuracy of recent predictions, I am mentally prepared for anything from 22 inches of blowing snow to a sunny seventy degree day!

thehawk

Fri, Feb 25, 2011 : 3:56 a.m.

Hear! Hear! lol

Edward Vielmetti

Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 10:42 p.m.

Here's a forecast map for the 2+&quot; range, showing how the estimates have varied in the last couple of days:
<a href="http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/friday-snowstorm-predictions">http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/friday-snowstorm-predictions</a>

Stefanie Murray

Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 10:26 p.m.

@amazonwarrior, thanks, we fixed the typo.

amazonwarrior

Thu, Feb 24, 2011 : 10:21 p.m.

Typo in the last sentence: &quot;...it is expected to [t]hen taper off....
3 to 5 inches or 4 to 7 inches, snow is snow and I wish I owned a flame thrower instead of a snow thrower.